


Trust Me

by kimpotato



Category: NU'EST, Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Friendship/Love, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23911327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimpotato/pseuds/kimpotato
Summary: “You’re also scared of heights?” he asked, trying to be friendly. “I asked my friends to leave me here, too.”Irene shot him a glare so cold Aron felt his insides freeze. She looked at him up and down, as if sizing him up, silently telling him, How dare you talk to me, peasant?
Relationships: Aaron Kwak | Aron/Bae Joohyun | Irene
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	Trust Me

Their love happened in stages. 

Slowly, starting from an innocent spark, igniting a quiet flame in the pit of their stomachs, until it smoldered fiery hot and then burned a steady flame.

Aron felt it first, the moment he saw her frown at her friends who were trying to convince her to ride the rollercoaster with them. She gave them an ultimatum: Either they leave her be, or she was deserting them and heading straight home, birthday celebration be damned. Her four friends pouted and whimpered to no avail, before lining up single file and marching toward the entrance of the rollercoaster ride.

“You’re also scared of heights?” he asked, trying to be friendly. “I asked my friends to leave me here, too.”

Irene shot him a glare so cold Aron felt his insides freeze. She looked at him up and down, as if sizing him up, silently telling him, _How dare you talk to me, peasant?_

Ten long minutes later, the most agonizing ten minutes of his life by far, his friends and Irene’s friends stepped out of the ride, laughing hysterically amongst themselves. It seemed they had hit it off quite well, after sharing a death-defying ride.

“Dongho cried, Hyung,” Mingi laughed, even as he was wiping his own eyes.

“Let’s all eat together!” one of the girls (Wendy, Aron later learned her name) suggested, and the rest of their clique quickly agreed. Except for Irene, of course. 

“I’ll treat you guys to chikin, come on,” Aron suddenly announced, earning a cheer from the group. 

“I don’t eat chicken,” Irene’s cold voice shattered the festive mood.

“You can order something else then,” Aron smiled, not deterred by Irene’s death glare.

“Come on, Unnie,” another girl (Seulgi) whined, batting pretty eyes. “Consider it your birthday gift for me, huh?”

The three remaining girls joined in, and even Mingi, precious Mingi, threw in a few convincing words. 

“Fine,” Irene muttered, sighing, as if wondering why her friends were so insufferable.

The remaining girls cheered, and Aron’s friends cheered along with them. 

And as he watched Irene trying to hide a smirk when Wendy butt-danced in celebration, Aron found himself smiling softly in return.

* * *

The evening after his major Economics report, Aron planned to sleep in early and wake up extra late the following day. After all, he had spent the past two weeks burning the midnight oil just so he could perfect his presentation, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that would stop him from taking his well-deserved rest.

Except maybe for Dongho’s insistent demand that they all go to karaoke.

An hour later, Aron found himself dragging his tired, sorry ass to the karaoke place, together with eight energetic, sugar-high kids and one calm and quiet Irene. 

Aron normally wasn’t as perky and noisy as his younger friends, so he had no issue staying in the background, quietly seated beside Irene as the rest of the gang took turns singing (and dancing, in Jonghyun’s and Seulgi’s case) their favorite karaoke songs.

It was in their second hour that Dongho finally noticed that neither Aron nor Irene had sung anything.

“How about a duet, Hyung?” Dongho asked, flashing his resident white-tiger smile. “We’ll even let you and Irene-noona choose the song.”

The rest of their friends voiced their agreement. Aron chuckled and turned to his seatmate. “What do you think?”

Irene tilted her head, as if considering. She shrugged, stood, and headed over the booth to punch in some numbers. The kids ooh’d and ahh’d, and Wendy even yelled, “Unnie’s singing her favorite karaoke song!”

Aron didn’t have time to question how Irene had sung the duet by herself before, or why she had its song code memorized. Jonghyun had already handed him the microphone, his normal calm and cool expression morphing into a shit-eating grin.

“Make us proud, Hyung,” he winked.

Aron wanted to say something witty in response, but all attempts for a comeback disappeared when Irene began singing the first line.

_“Tell me how I’m supposed to breathe with no air . . .”_

Aron was pretty sure he had blended well with Irene for the rest of the song, but he couldn’t really remember much of it. What he did remember was the sparkle in Irene’s eyes, the soft smile on her lips, the emotion in her voice, as she sang each line.

And as they breathed out the last chorus, with butterflies fluttering in his stomach, Aron realized something. 

He found Irene beautiful. 

* * *

Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. Aron found himself with new friends, four fun-loving university students and their quiet Unnie. He and Irene didn’t really interact much (except for that karaoke duet two months ago), but they always hung out with the rest of the group, acting as pseudo-guardians, keeping the kids in line when their enthusiasm threatened to get them into trouble.

And before anyone realized, it was finally time for Aron to celebrate _his_ birthday.

The five girls were, of course, invited to celebrate with them.

“They’re here,” Jonghyun announced as their new friends walked into Aron’s small flat, each one carrying a different-sized present. The rest of the boys looked up and smiled in welcome.

“Happy birthday!” Joy and Yeri greeted, shoving their presents to Aron’s face the second they came within arm’s reach. 

Aron laughed as he said thanks, and said thank you again when Seulgi and Wendy handed over their gifts as well. Last came Irene, her stone-cold expression firmly in place.

“Thank you,” Aron smiled warmly as he accepted the gift bag. Irene answered him with a small nod.

The rest of the afternoon flew by quickly, ten young adults celebrating Aron’s birthday as best as they can. There were overflowing coffee, tea, and juice, and cakes and pastries, and cheesy parlor games that Minhyun facilitated with Wendy.

Everyone was having fun, until Minhyun announced that they’re playing Funny Bones. “Everyone needs to join in,” he beamed. “Except for Wendy-nie and me, of course, since we’re already hosting.”

Irene flat-out refused to participate, and even Aron was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of pairing up his kids with girls close to their age.

“Unnie won’t win anyway since she has short arms,” Yeri joked. With the way Irene glared at her, Aron wondered if Yeri had a death wish.

“She should partner up with Aron-hyung then,” Mingi chirped. “He has short arms, too.”

“Yah, Mingi-ya!” Aron whined. “My arms are average length!”

“All right then.” 

Nine pairs of eyes blinked as Irene turned to Aron, her eyes blazing with fierce determination.

“Let’s teach these kids that they should never mess with their elders.”

He’d later blame it on the adrenaline rush, but Aron swore his heart somersaulted to his stomach and then jumped back up, all the way to his throat, when Irene suddenly smirked at him. His thoughts brought him back two months ago, to that first duet, and for the first time, he realized that he did, in fact, like Irene, in a way he hadn’t liked a girl in a long, long time.

* * *

“You came,” Aron beamed, half in gratitude, half in relief. After all, he wasn’t quite sure if Irene would really show up when he sent her an invitation for afternoon tea (she vehemently told him she didn’t drink coffee).

Irene blinked as he took her seat opposite him. “I said I’ll go,” she answered, straightforward as always.

“Thank you,” Aron replied, handing her the open menu. “Do you want to order now? They said at the counter that Pink Island Iced Tea is their specialty, in case you’re looking for recommendations,” he prompted, giving his date the freedom to pick her drink even when Joy, bless her soul, had already told him in advance that her Unnie only ever drank the said drink.

Irene studied the menu quietly for a few seconds, while Aron tried not to fidget in his seat. He had been on dates before, of course, but he felt extra nervous with this first date with Irene. For some reason, he really wanted to make this one work.

Irene closed the menu and nodded. “Pink Island Iced Tea sounds good,” she answered, smiling widely for the first time since Aron had met her. “May I order a slice of cake, too?”

Aron breathed a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

* * *

It was touch and go the first few weeks, a period of adjustment for both of them. Aron hadn’t been in a serious relationship since Lee Se-young, and it seemed that Irene had never been in _any_ romantic relationship before. 

Still, he was grateful that Irene was willing to try, despite the gossips that Aron had (unwillingly) heard since they started dating. That she’s a man hater. That she’s a stone-cold bitch. That she lacked tact and didn’t relate well with others.

If anything, Aron realized that Irene could be keeping her guard up because she’s afraid to get hurt. 

And he was going to try his best to avoid that.

* * *

He stood the second the studio doors opened. Students exited by two’s and three’s, some giving him a nod, others quietly whispering among themselves while giving him a meaningful glance.

Minutes later Irene finally stepped out, pausing in mid-step when she realized that Aron was waiting for her.

“What are you doing here?”

Aron smiled sheepishly as he coughed in mild embarrassment. “You said dance practice got extended so you had to cancel our date.”

Irene nodded, looking just the tiniest bit guilty. “I already apologized over the phone.”

Aron shook his head, as if trying to clear a misunderstanding before it could even begin. “I’m not angry. But since we couldn’t eat together earlier, I figured I’d bring you late dinner instead,” he explained, lifting the take-out bag he had with him. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Irene answered, even as she came closer, already eyeing the bag, obviously curious of its content. 

“Shouldn’t have I?” Aron asked, a bit worried. He was only concerned that Irene might not have eaten dinner yet. Did he overstep his bounds?

Irene shook her head. “I’m glad you did though,” she replied, smiling softly. “Thank you for being considerate.”

Aron sighed in relief. “I’ll bring you dinner again next time.”

Irene snorted. “Don’t spoil me too much,” she chuckled as they started walking down the hall, side by side, hands brushing against each other.

“Shouldn’t I?” Aron grinned.

Irene rolled her eyes and tried to stop a smile from forming on her lips. When their hands brushed again, Aron gently tapped a finger against the back of Irene’s hand. Irene paused and raised an eyebrow.

“I . . .” Aron looked away, suddenly shy. When he turned to face Irene again, he found her patiently waiting for him to continue.

“I was going to ask if I may hold your hand.”

Aron prepared for the worst—to get socked or slapped or abandoned in the hallway. Instead, Irene smiled and raised her left hand, as if offering it to him.

“I was hoping you’d ask.”

* * *

It wasn’t always smooth sailing. They were imperfect people, so it was expected that theirs would be an imperfect relationship.

But Aron cherished it all the same—their highs and lows, their petty fights and arguments.

Aron cherished her.

And at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered, right?

* * *

“Can you please stop sulking,” Aron sighed in exasperation as Irene steeped in silent brooding beside him. A few feet in front of them crowded their “kids,” eight university students released into the wild (just the arcade a train’s ride away from uni, really) after a hell’s week filled with exams and term paper deadlines.

Jonghyun and Seulgi were currently duking it out on Dance Central, while Yeri and Mingi were competing against each other in Whack-a-Mole. To their right both Minhyun and Joy were taking an excessive amount of selfies, and to their left Wendy and Dongho were belting out their own rendition of TVXQ's “Mirotic,” complete with hip sways and hand gestures.

“Look, I already apologized a thousand times, okay?” Aron half-hissed, half-whined. “I didn’t think it would offend you that I said I didn’t like _The Notebook_.”

“Because you have poor taste in movies,” Irene bit back. “And you didn’t apologize ‘a thousand times.’ You chuckled an insincere ‘Sorry’ and moved on.”

Aron gaped as he stared at his girlfriend in disbelief. “Which I hope you’ll do as well!”

“Not until you apologize to Noah and Allie from the bottom of your heart!”

“You _cannot_ be serious!”

“I’ve never been serious my entire life!”

“Yah, you two,” Dongho cut through their argument. “Your shouts are drowning out our song.”

“You shouldn’t be singing loudly here in the first place!” Irene snapped at him.

Dongho blinked, turned to Wendy, and shrugged. “Do you want to eat _chikin_ for dinner?”

Wendy snorted and quickly masked it with a fake cough. “Chikin sounds good,” she giggled as she and Dongho headed toward the others, already plotting their next meal.

Aron heard Irene growl beside him and all his irritation melted away. Poking her shoulder gently, he asked, “Should I buy you popcorn rock shrimps? _The Notebook_ was set in a seaside town, right?”

Irene glared even as her mood slowly shifted. “I really hate you sometimes,” she hissed.

Aron nodded and offered his arm. “But you love me right now, don’t you?”

Irene rolled her eyes and linked her own arm around Aron’s offered one. 

* * *

“I changed my mind.”

Aron grinned nervously as they stood in front of the kiddie roller coaster, a cluster of grade schoolers lined up in front and behind them. Beside him stood Irene, equally terrified. 

They were back in the amusement park, one year after they first met, to celebrate Seulgi’s birthday once again. The eight kids hurried to their favorite death-defying ride, but not before daring Aron and Irene to ride the kiddie roller coaster, at least.

“They’ll never know we didn’t actually take the ride, right?” she whispered, quickly agreeing with him as she gripped his hand tightly. 

“Yeah, we can just tell them we rode it,” Aron nodded, even as the line moved forward and a fresh chorus of happy screaming kids assaulted their ears.

“Right, right,” Irene muttered, worriedly biting her lip. “I think I’ll die if I ride this, I swear.”

“Me too,” Aron chuckled, his laugh uncharacteristically higher in pitch than usual.

Neither left the line though, and within a few more tense minutes, they found themselves strapped into the mini-kart, gripping the railings tightly as the attendant told them to have fun.

“At least we’ll be dying together, huh?” Aron tried for a joke.

“That’s not encouraging at all,” Irene whimpered as she buried her face in Aron’s shoulder. “Wake me up when it’s over?”

Aron patted Irene’s hand. “I was going to ask you to do the same but . . .”

They both giggled hysterically, and then promptly screamed when the mini-kart started moving. Aron risked a glance at Irene and found her half-laughing, half-crying, her right arm tightly linked against his. He felt his heart start to pound loudly in his chest. 

He knew that the scary ride was only half the reason for it. 

###


End file.
